Darden Restaurants did just that, and in a shockingly swift and public fashion. Here’s a look at just how the board of the casual dining giant and parent to brands like Olive Garden and, until recently, Red Lobster, pulled it off.

The parent company of Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse and other fast casual dining chains delayed its annual shareholder meeting amid allegations it was giving different information out to different classes of investors regarding the sale of Red Lobster. Activist investor Starboard Capital isn’t happy with the move.

A lame duck CEO, a swift sale of Red Lobster without shareholder approval, and two hedge funds out for the entire board should make the Darden annual meeting in Orlando next month quite the spectacle. So. Much. Drama.

Darden Restaurants announced late Monday that CEO Clarence Otis will be stepping down after 10 years with the fast casual dining giant. His departure follows the company’s sale of Red Lobster to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital.

The parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster missed analyst earnings estimates for the fourth quarter. Executives, who are facing shareholder opposition to the $2.1 billion sale of Red Lobster, called fiscal 2014 “a year of transformation.”

Darden says its sale last month of the seafood restaurant chain for $2.1 billion was full and fair. Activist investors say it was a scorched earth tactic meant to save the jobs of executives. A showdown is set for the company’s annual meeting later this year.

The company said in an earnings call Friday morning that the quarter was “challenging,” especially at Red Lobster, which the company is trying to spin off. Darden’s CEO also urged shareholders to communicate with the company instead of holding a special vote on the spin-off or sale that an activist hedge fund has been fighting for in recent months.

Darden Restaurants reports earnings tomorrow, and another weak report could be enough to move shareholders to side with an activist hedge fund that is trying to stop the company from spinning off its chain of Red Lobster restaurants.

The hedge fund Barington Capital Group is mounting a campaign to break up the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, Darden Restaurants, in part because of the abysmal performance of those two chains. Here’s a look at how they fell so far so fast.

Yesterday Buzzfeed editor Matt Stopera launched a successful campaign to get Robert Mills a free dinner at Red Lobster on his birthday. As usual, the internet erupted in self-righteous anger toward this socialist outrage.